As we head towards the coming election one of the biggest issues for Pacific people will be the availability or lack of job opportunities.
Former Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Dr Karanina Sumeo is blunt.
As far as she’s concerned, rising unemployment – especially among Pacific people – reflects the roll-on and impact of the coalition government’s decisions over the last few years.
“They have directly impacted industries with significant numbers of Pacific workers, such as construction, manufacturing, wholesale and retail,” she says.
“Around three quarters of Pacific people live in either Auckland or Wellington where there have been significant job losses especially in the public sector.
“Job losses, job insecurity, increased hardship and poverty, reduce spending that affect the sustainability of other businesses and workplaces that employ Pacific peoples adding to unemployment. Pacific workers are not choosing to be unemployed.”
Unemployment figures released by Statistics NZ from the June quarter show the current national unemployment rate rose to 5.6 percent. And while there was a slight increase in employment, (0.5 percent), there was an increase of more people looking for work, with many finding it tough.
But when it comes to Pacific people, their unemployment rate is nearly twice the national average.
In the June quarter, the unemployment rate by ethnicity was:
- 11.6 percent for Pacific peoples
- 10.8 percent for Māori
- 5.0 percent for Asians
- 4.2 percent for Europeans.
For youth, the numbers continue to be tough. There was a 19.5 percent increase in the number of unemployed people aged 15 to 24 years, up 12,200 in the year to June 2026.
Unemployment in the North Island increased to 6.0 percent, from 5.3 percent a year earlier.
In the South Island, the unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in the June 2026 quarter.
The unemployment rate increased compared with 5.4 percent in the March 2026 quarter.
Statistics NZ Labour Market spokesperson Abby Johnston says, around eight thousand more people were experiencing long-term unemployment in the June 2026 quarter than in the same quarter in 2025.
Green Party spokesperson for Pacific Peoples, MP Teanau Tuiono, says everyone deserves secure, meaningful work that allows them to support their families and to thrive.
“Instead, this Government’s decisions are pushing more people into hardship and widening existing inequalities. These figures confirm what many Pasifika families already know from experience: life is getting harder. Rising unemployment means lost incomes, increased stress, and fewer opportunities for our young people,” Tuiono says.
The MP Tuiono says unemployment is climbing and opportunities are shrinking.
“Pasifika already faces significant barriers in the labour market, and these latest figures show those barriers are getting worse, not better. When unemployment rises, it’s our communities who feel the impacts first and hardest – it means parents choosing whether to heat their homes or fill up the car. While Christopher Luxon is building the future for his big donors, Pasifika is again being left behind.”
Of the 166,500 people who were unemployed in the June 2026 quarter (not seasonally adjusted), 19.0 percent had been unemployed for more than a year. Being unemployed for over a year is one measure of long-term unemployment.
Saunoamaali’i, who is the Pacific Advisor for the Peoples Select Committee on Pay Equity, says she gets worried when a Government takes its eyes off reducing child poverty, pushes for more unemployment, and chooses AI over people.
“I worry about people’s jobs when I see self-checkout operators at the supermarket, or when I call a business or agency and end up ‘talking’ with a Chatbox,” she says.
“I think of reduced job opportunities in customer service, retail, and administration type roles, especially for women, young workers and new graduates.”
